Unintentional weight loss after ED Inpatient treatment?
sarahbums
Posts: 1,061 Member
ok so
I was in inpatient for my ED (anorexia) for 5 weeks and came home Friday. I'm on a weight-maintenance meal plan now and I've been doing my best to follow it-3 meals and 3 snacks. I did switch up a couple of snacks today and yesterday, but for the most part I've been doing well so far. I've averaged around 1600cal, which i figured I'd maintain on since im so sedentary and small-framed.
the thing is, i was discharged weighing ~110lbs (up from 93lbs at admission). But, yesterday and today i was 106, and now 104. My last week in treatment i somehow stopped gaining and plateau'd at 110-on a 2400cal diet. Which doesnt make sense to me? I literally just sat around all day with no physical activity.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Do I have to go back to 2000+ to maintain? Idk It just seems like too much for my activity level. I used to maintain on 1550cal. Maybe my metabolism increased?
I'll be seeing my dietitian Tuesday to see what she thinks. I just wanted some input/ideas from you guys : )
[and I'll go ahead and make my diary public if anyone needs to check it out]
I was in inpatient for my ED (anorexia) for 5 weeks and came home Friday. I'm on a weight-maintenance meal plan now and I've been doing my best to follow it-3 meals and 3 snacks. I did switch up a couple of snacks today and yesterday, but for the most part I've been doing well so far. I've averaged around 1600cal, which i figured I'd maintain on since im so sedentary and small-framed.
the thing is, i was discharged weighing ~110lbs (up from 93lbs at admission). But, yesterday and today i was 106, and now 104. My last week in treatment i somehow stopped gaining and plateau'd at 110-on a 2400cal diet. Which doesnt make sense to me? I literally just sat around all day with no physical activity.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Do I have to go back to 2000+ to maintain? Idk It just seems like too much for my activity level. I used to maintain on 1550cal. Maybe my metabolism increased?
I'll be seeing my dietitian Tuesday to see what she thinks. I just wanted some input/ideas from you guys : )
[and I'll go ahead and make my diary public if anyone needs to check it out]
0
Replies
-
Why are you weighing yourself? The last time I stepped on a scale for myself was the day before I went into in-patient for the 4th time. Now, I let my treatment team worry about that stuff.
But I also found that I had to eat more outside of treatment. When I was gaining in in-patient, i was on 2700 calories. When I left, I needed over 3500 calories. I live in a very active city though, so I was moving a lot more.
Because of how low my weight was, I met with my dietician 3 times a week to help keep me on track. I recommend you do the same.4 -
1600 is very very low it seems. How old/tall are you? Maintenance for me is 1900 calories. Did your doctor give you a number of calories to aim for?
If you are exercising, are you eating back your calories?
ETA-stay strong!!! You got this2 -
So - did they give you specific foods to eat? Is keeping track of numbers part of your treatment plan? If so, 1600 doesn't seem like enough. Are you trying to "write your own treatment" against the direction of your medical team? None of that post of yours sounds right.
2 -
add a drop of peanut or sunflower oil to some or all of your meals. just a drop will hopefully not trigger your ED or make your food feel greasy. those oils have no taste at all (get Planters brand peanut oil not no name brands which do). they'll add the needed calories without making you feel mentally/emotionally tired from having to physically eat more things, which i'm guessing is a thing for people with anorexia?.2
-
GemstoneofHeart wrote: »1600 is very very low it seems. How old/tall are you? Maintenance for me is 1900 calories. Did your doctor give you a number of calories to aim for?
If you are exercising, are you eating back your calories?
ETA-stay strong!!! You got this
im 24 and 5'4". I'm not doing any exercise at the moment.
My treatment center just has us use dietary exchanges rather than calorie counting. For example, my dinners have to have 3 proteins, 2 fats, 2 grains, and 1 vegetable; Breakfast is 1 protein, 1 dairy, 1 grain and 1 fat, and so on. Ive been meeting all these exchanges and it just happens to end up around 1600- I'm not intentionally aiming for 1600 or anything.
So... thing is, a lot of ED sufferers obsess about numbers. Can't you at least try to just use the exchanges and see how you do - without calorie counting? The numbers can quickly become obsessive and controlling (in your mind.)0 -
I'm really trying to. Its just that I've been a calorie counter for 10 years, since i was 14 years old. so it's going to take a while to get out of a habit that's so ingrained.
...but that's part of what your treatment team is trying to break your mind out of. The numbers themselves became part of your need to control. The calorie counting is part of your ED.
I would say don't even come to this site for a while until you get a handle on this part of your anxiety response.
11 -
cmriverside wrote: »
I'm really trying to. Its just that I've been a calorie counter for 10 years, since i was 14 years old. so it's going to take a while to get out of a habit that's so ingrained.
...but that's part of what your treatment team is trying to break your mind out of. The numbers themselves became part of your need to control. The calorie counting is part of your ED.
I would say don't even come to this site for a while until you get a handle on this part of your anxiety response.
^^^^^^ this!
I agree with everything this lady has said thus far...I am recovered from ana and mia. Fitness sites are not meant to be used for ED treatment. The numbers are triggering and all consuming. Also 1600 cals seems pretty low. Learnt behaviours during the ED mean that your NEAT figure will be high (you don't realise how unsedentary you actually are)1 -
It's good to hear that you are using exchanges. That alone helped me break an intense obsession with calorie counting. I understand that the habit is hard to stop though, especially when it becomes an automatic response to preparing a meal.
To keep it simple, you could just add in 1 glass of juice at lunch and 1 glass of milk at dinner. Or, you can add 1 Ensure/Boost/Soylent drink at sometime throughout the day.2 -
You have come a long way, achieved so much. Please try to replicate the size/kinds of meals and snacks you were able to have while you were under close supervision. All will be well. You laid down some good foundation, please keep building on them. Weight will vairy day to day, please try to turn this trend around.
Seeking support on here may well be helpful but keep in contact with those who are advising you in your everyday life. These are the people who really know you.1 -
No one mentioned it? Maybe it is not as common as I think?
I am referring to a 3 to 6 month period of hyper-metabolic activity once recovery from anorexia has started where NEAT actually increases to well above normal/expected. Conjecture is that it happens in order to facilitate organ and tissue recovery, or possibly just because!
As such it is not unknown for even 2K and sedentary to not be enough for a few months.
In any case, numbers or no numbers... 1600 sounds quite low for a young person to maintain and your results prove that it is not enough.
Given that you're starting from a sub-20 bmi your margin of error ought to be going the other way...1 -
I'm glad you're going to review this with your treatment team. This seems to be the most appropriate course at this time.0
-
Eat more
Talk to your doctors0 -
No one mentioned it? Maybe it is not as common as I think?
I am referring to a 3 to 6 month period of hyper-metabolic activity once recovery from anorexia has started where NEAT actually increases to well above normal/expected. Conjecture is that it happens in order to facilitate organ and tissue recovery, or possibly just because!
As such it is not unknown for even 2K and sedentary to not be enough for a few months.
In any case, numbers or no numbers... 1600 sounds quite low for a young person to maintain and your results prove that it is not enough.
Given that you're starting from a sub-20 bmi your margin of error ought to be going the other way...
ah, I've heard of this! One of the dietitians in IP talked about the hyper-metabolism thing. It's really interesting. I just assumed it wouldn't happen to me since i hadn't been restricting *that* much. But who knows. I'll have to dig up the article on it sometime.
It's the same for me. Didn't have an ED, but health issues caused me to lose a ridiculous amount of weight. I was on MFP for months eating ~2500 as instructed, but still losing. My now BIL explained this concept to me. I read up on it...makes so much sense because the body is trying to replenish and preserve the organs. I eat at 3500 to gain weight. I have to be honest, I am starting to enjoy eating this much, and will be devastated once my NEAT stabilizes.
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 416 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions